Wednesday, July 19, 2017

I had flown in and out of Hanoi twice
before—flying out of U-Tapao AB, Thailand—with the peace negotiating
team. Both times, we were ordered to wear civilian clothes and be nice
to them. They took our pictures as we sat around a table for a briefing.
The infamous “Rabbit” was in charge. At least that’s who we thought it
was. Big ears. They then took us to a hotel and fed us in a banquet
room. The food was delicious and we were ordered to drink their beer
when offered. It didn’t taste too bad and was only about 2-3% so the
brass weren’t concerned about us being able to fly afterwards.

Then they took us to museums—their War Museum on the first mission.
They had parts of our warplanes that had been shot down and also showed
us the gun where Hanoi Jane Fonda sat for that infamous picture.

Never has so much ignorance been rendered on such a great feat by so few.

Well said though still in a quandary why Hitler held back there.

Such is the historical record of reviewers of the new movie, "Dunkirk."

First, a brief historical primer. Dunkirk was the site of the British
Army's evacuation from northern France in May-June 1940. The evacuation
was made necessary after the British Army in France, deployed as the
British Expeditionary Force, was encircled by a rapidly advancing German
army.

Thanks to the immense courage of rearguard forces, RAF pilots,
and British civilians (who lent their boats to the effort), 200,000
British soldiers and 140,000 French, Belgian and Polish soldiers were
saved from capture.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has yet to release its June fundraising numbers. The DNC was vastly outpaced by its GOP counterpart in May, raising only $4.3 million compared to the RNC’s $10.8 million haul.

The Republican National Committee
(RNC) raised a record $13.4 million in June, bringing its total 2017
fundraising to $75.3 million.

In
a release provided first to The Hill, the RNC announced another strong
monthly haul and has $44.7 million in the bank. It's the most the RNC
has raised in June of a nonpresidential year.

RNC
Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel credited the record fundraising to the
committee’s “loyal network of grassroots donors” due to their support
for President Trump and the GOP’s agenda.

One current official told the Post that the decision is a massive concession to Moscow, saying that “Putin won in Syria.”It's none of our business, dorkhead.

President
Trump is shutting down the CIA’s program to arm and train rebels
fighting the Syrian government, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, a
victory for Russia, which has called for the move for years.

Officials told the Post
that shutting down the program, begun by the Obama administration in
2013, is a sign of Trump’s attempts to work with Russia, which has
viewed the U.S. attempts to force out Syrian President Bashar Assad
during that country's civil war as an attack on its own interests.

President Trump's administration, on orders to kill two regulations
for every new one, ripped up the playbook during its first six months,
eliminating 16 old rules for every new one, according to top officials.

"It's really the beginning of a kind of fundamental regulatory reform
and a reorientation of where we're going with regulation," said Neomi
Rao, the newly installed administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget.

In a briefing with a handful of reporters, Rao laid out the
administration's regulation agenda, declaring, "It's a
beginning...you're going to see a rollback of regulations."

Former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power's involvement in the
unmasking by former Obama administration officials of sensitive national
security information is raising red flags over what insiders view was
an attempt by the former administration to undermine President Donald
Trump and key figures on his team, according to current and former U.S.
officials familiar with the situation.

Power appears to be central to efforts by top Obama administration
officials to identify individuals named in classified intelligence
community reports related to Trump and his presidential transition team,
according to multiple sources.

The names of Trump allies in the raw intelligence reports were leaked
to the press in what many in Congress and the current administration
claim is an attempt by Obama allies and former officials to damage the
White House.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggested Wednesday that
former FBI Director James Comey broke agency protocol by leaking memos
to the press about his meetings with President Trump.

"As a general proposition, you have to understand the Department of
Justice. We take confidentiality seriously, so when we have memoranda
about our ongoing matters, we have an obligation to keep that
confidential," Rosenstein said on Fox News after being asked if it would
ever be proper for an FBI director to take notes on a meeting with the
president and then leak them to the press.

Rosenstein
stressed he wouldn't answer direct questions about Comey. But when asked
if he would approve of Comey's leak, he reiterated the duty of
offiicals to keep things confidential. "I think it is quite clear," he
said. "It's what we were taught, all of us prosecutors and agents."

In a remarkable public break with one of his earliest political
supporters, Mr. Trump complained that Mr. Sessions’s decision ultimately
led to the appointment of a special counsel that should not have
happened. “Sessions should have never recused himself and if he was
going to recuse himself he should have told me before he took the job
and I would have picked somebody else,” Mr. Trump said.

In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the president
also accused James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director he fired in May, of
trying to leverage a dossier of compromising material to keep his job.
Mr. Trump criticized both the acting F.B.I. director who has been
filling in since Mr. Comey’s dismissal and the deputy attorney general
who recommended it. And he took on Robert S. Mueller III, the special
counsel now leading the investigation into Russian meddling in last
year’s election.

Mr. Trump said Mr. Mueller was running an office rife with
conflicts of interest and warned that investigators would cross a red
line if they delve into Trump family finances unrelated to Russia. Mr.
Trump never said he would order the Justice Department to fire Mr.
Mueller, nor would he outline circumstances under which he might do so.
But he left open the possibility as he expressed deep grievance over an
investigation that has taken a political toll in the six months since he
took office.

The tumor was discovered after the senior Arizona senator underwent a minor procedure last week to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.
"Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma associated with the blood clot," the hospital said in a statement.

“The Senator and his family are reviewing further
treatment options with his Mayo Clinic care team. Treatment options may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation."

Maybe it's
just me, but I find something off-putting about turning the White House
into an exhibition hall for American tchotchkes.

It’s “Made In America” week in Washington, D.C. You’d think this
would be cause for bipartisan celebration. Who could be against
highlighting the ingenuity, self-reliance and success of our nation’s
homegrown entrepreneurs and manufacturers?

Enter Bill Kristol.

The entrenched Beltway pundit ridiculed a festive kickoff event on
Monday at the White House, where President Donald Trump hosted companies
from all 50 states to showcased their American-made products.

“Maybe it’s just me,” killjoy Kristol tweeted, “but I find something
off-putting about turning the White House into an exhibition hall for
American tchotchkes.” (That’s the Yiddish word for useless trinkets).

“Tchotchkes”?

Tell that to the engineers at Hytrol, the Arkansas-based conveyor
manufacturer that brought a mechanical display of its technology to the
State Dining Room. Hytrol’s late founder, Tom Loberg, started out as a
gopher at an electronics parts factory during the Great Depression,
worked his way up to designing Navy turbines, hydraulic pumps and
cylinders, and entered the conveyor belt business after perfecting
bag-transporting machinery for seed, grain and tobacco farmers.

The removal and desecration of images of enemies of the state was an
accepted part of Roman political life, a formal public dishonour named
as damnatio memoriae, and the destruction of built and material
culture of a defeated foe was, like rape of enemy women, de facto
psychological warfare millennia before such a concept was formalised. In
recent years the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Talinn, and
associated Russian war graves in 2009, put contested memorialisation
firmly on the agenda at both art and architecture/design conferences.

The Bronze Soldier controversy arose long before Dylann Roof or the
Black Lives Matter movement stirred modern consciences, given public
arguments over statues are now strongly associated with race and post
colonialism. This linkage was affirmed newly and spectacularly by Mitch
Landrieu’s removal of four Confederate memorials in New Orleans.
Landrieu’s post-removal speech, transparently praising his own actions,
whilst widely applauded as a new benchmark in racial equality,
simultaneously reveals less admirable content, a favouring of extreme
theatrical sentiment over rational discussion in public life, especially
around identity, a supreme self confidence via specifically North
American narratives and celebrity name dropping as corroborating
authenticity.

The performativity and dramatic self-projection within the
agora shown by Landrieu and other advocates for removing controversial
monuments in the United States, cuts across the frequent claims that
removal represents an inevitable expression of natural justice and a
limpid process of delivering a rightful morality to public space and the
designed landscape.

President Trump: Since 2013 Obamacare
premiums have skyrocketed… Despite the promise that premiums would
decrease by $2,500 on average, they’ve almost increased by $3,000 and
even much more than that in some cases. It’s crushing the Middle Class
and the families of the Middle Class. It’s frankly crushing our country.
Obamacare was a big lie. You can keep your doctor – Lie! You can keep your plan – Lie!
It was a lie directly from the president. You can keep your doctor. You
can keep your plan. 28 times he said that. 28 times. And it was a lie
and he knew it was!“

When I asked one of my friends (shout out to Noto) what he thought about revolvers, he told me it was the only choice.
More often than not in this country, a scenario you are likely to use
lethal force in starts with an assault, at contact range. In his years
of conducting undercover and teaching it, one rule was true 100 percent
of the time. An auto is always fouled as soon as it comes out, either
with hands or trapped in clothing.

Therefore, in real-world
situations, an auto has a capacity of one, while a revolver has the
capacity of at least five (or eight if it’s the new hotness from Smith & Wesson).
Between us girls, this is something I didn’t really know either. It
certainly has made me reconsider going to a J-Frame. I say that as
someone who has experience dishing out violence. It was my full-time job
for a decade and a half.*I don't get it.

Pierre de Villiers, the head of France’s armed forces, resigned Wednesday after a public dispute with President Emmanuel Macron.

De Villiers said he could no longer carry out his duties amid budget cuts under the new administration.

“In the current circumstances I see myself as no longer able to
guarantee the robust defense force I believe is necessary to guarantee
the protection of France and the French people, today and tomorrow, and
to sustain the aims of our country,” de Villiers said, according to France24.

The resignation follows weeks of open criticism over Macron’s
leadership and decision to cut the 2017 budget by 850 million euro ($969
million).

Two of the bases were already known. Some other locations had
previously leaked out through a news agency in Iran, but Turkey compiled
all of the information and put it out on blast through Anadolu Tuesday
via its English language site.

A spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve asked The Daily Beast not to publish base details from the Anadolu news agency.

Conservatives are lashing out at the Republican-controlled Congress over the lack of progress on President Trump’s agenda.

One
by one, conservative groups lined up to blame Congress — not the
president — for the collapse of Senate Republicans’ effort to repeal and
replace ObamaCare.

“It’s shocking the amount of pushback he’s
getting from his own party,” said Carl Higbie, a former spokesman for
the pro-Trump Great America PAC. “It’s time to primary some of these
longstanding congressional leaders that can’t get the job done.”

Conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt trained his ire on Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), arguably the most endangered GOP Senate incumbent in 2018, for opposing the repeal and replace bill.

President Trump kicked off the first formal meeting of the
Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity on Wednesday by
promising to extract voter data from states so far unwilling to provide
it to the panel and questioning why those states have chosen to withhold
the information.

"If any state does not want to share this information, one has to
wonder what they're worried about," Trump said before the commission
convened its meeting on Wednesday. "There's something, there always is."

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the commission's co-chairman,
has faced resistance from more than a dozen states in his efforts to
collect data on registered voters for use in the administration's
investigation.

"All of that information will be forthcoming," Trump said of the states that have so far rebuffed Kobach's request.

Sen. Ted Cruz plans to unveil to Senators at a White House meeting on
Wednesday an analysis from the Department of Health and Human Services
showing his healthcare Consumer Freedom amendment would lower costs and
raise individual enrollment, including those considered "high risk."

The report comes as President Trump attempts to revive talks on a
healthcare bill that has failed to garner the support of 50 GOP
senators, in part because they fear any change in Obamacare will reduce
coverage and raise premiums.

"One way or another, this amendment is going to lower premiums and make people better off," a source close to Cruz told the Washington Examiner.

The Congressional Budget Office, which said a previous version of the
Senate healthcare bill would leave 22 million fewer Americans with
insurance, has yet to release an analysis of the Cruz amendment, and
Republicans had said they may rely on an analysis from Trump's HHS
instead.

First time I've noticed the tear running down Mammy's face. Moses Ezekiel was an extraordinary sculpturer. Many links on his at NamSouth

Too many people believe that slavery is a "peculiar institution." That's
what Kenneth Stampp called slavery in his book, "Peculiar Institution:
Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South." But slavery is by no means peculiar,
odd or unusual. It was common among ancient peoples such as the
Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Greeks, Persians, Armenians
and many others. Large numbers of Christians were enslaved during the
Ottoman wars in Europe. White slaves were common in Europe from the Dark
Ages to the Middle Ages. It was only after A.D. 1600 that Europeans
joined with Arabs and Africans and started the Atlantic slave trade. As
David P. Forsythe wrote in his book, "The Globalist," "The fact remained
that at the beginning of the nineteenth century an estimated
three-quarters of all people alive were trapped in bondage against their
will either in some form of slavery or serfdom."

Dozens of President Trump's nominees are waiting for their
confirmations to move forward as Democrats embark on "historic
obstructionism," according to several Republican lawmakers. Yet, the GOP
isn't the only one to have noticed the maddening delays. The New York Times is now reporting on the brand new "delaying tactic" the Democrats are employing to deny Trump his nominees.

Democratic
Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) has paid the online media firm that helped
propel Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during his dark horse run for the
2016 Democratic primary more than $400,000 this year, filings show.

Revolution Messaging LLC, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive online media firm founded by Scott Goodstein, an online director
for Obama for America in 2008, was instrumental in helping push
Sanders's message out and raise his profile during his race against
Hillary Clinton by creating his digital and branding strategy.

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. State Department
refugee data, during the period from January 21, 2017 - President
Trump’s first full day in office - through June 30, “9,598 Christian
refugees arrived in the U.S., compared with 7,250 Muslim refugees.
Christians made up 50% of all refugee arrivals in this period, compared
with 38% who are Muslim.”

Remembrance

To die for one’s country is not only an act of bravery, it is THE act of bravery. For soldiers, it is just an extension of their military career, a part of their duty. As leaders have asked their soldiers to sacrifice themselves for the good of the society, it is only right for leaders to go through the same motion. They should practice what they have preached.

As war is seen as a noble act, tu sat serves as redemption in case of defeat. It is also a way to tell the enemy: “You might have won the battle/war but you don’t deserve to win because you don’t have the chinh nghia (just cause).” And it is not only just cause: it is the moral belief that the cause they are fighting for deserves their total sacrifice. Continues below

Follow by Email

Counter

Core Creek Militia

==============================My sixth great grandfather, his wife, and five of his six children were killed in battle with the Tuscarora Indians at Core Creek, NC.

The Seven Blackbirds

==============================My third great grandfather was an Ensign in the Revolutionary War, and saved his unit's flag after being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. He was also at Kingston (Kinston), Wilmington, Charleston, Two Sisters and Augusta. He was at the defeat at Brier Creek and also Bee Creek.

Requiem Aeternam -
Eternal Rest Grant unto Them
==============================
My second great grandfather was killed in action on May 3, 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
=============================
My great grandfather and great uncle knew all the men in the "Civil War Requiem" video as they were part of the 53rd NC which was the sole unit defending Fort Mahone. (Fort Mahone was named "Fort Damnation" by the Yankees) *Handpicked men of the 53rd (My great grandfather was one of these) made the final, night assault at Petersburg in an attempt to break Grant's line. This was against Fort Stedman which was a few miles to the slight northeast. They initially succeeded, but reinforcements drove them back. This video is made from photographs which were taken the day after the 53rd evacuated the lines the night before to begin the retreat to Appomattox. I have many more pictures taken by the same photographer, one of these shows a 14 year old boy and the other is the famous picture of the blond, handsome soldier with his musket.
===========================
*General Gordon promised the men a gold medal and 30 days leave if they accomplished their task and many years after the War my great grandfather wrote General Gordon, who was then governor of Georgia about this incident. They exchanged several letters which I have framed. See first link below.
===========================
*The Attack On Fort Stedman
============================
"His Colored Friends"
============================
Lee's Surrender
=============================
My Black NC Kinfolks
============================
Punished For Being Caught!

Great Grandfather Koonce

He was a drummer boy in the WBTS, survived the War only to die a few years later. He was caught in an ice storm on his way home, but instead of seeking shelter, continued on his horse until the end. His clothes had to be cut off and he died a few days later.